By Saturday morning we were very tired of Under Canvas. After only two nights.
I booked three nights, expecting that we would enjoy the experience quite a bit more. But after two nights we wished we wouldn’t be returning that night for a third.
The bathrooms were poorly maintained, the tents were crowded together, and the kid’s tent was too cold for our son to sleep in comfortably.
We had an early morning cave tour to make and, after getting showered and dressed, we were on our way to Jewel Cave.
Custer
I mentioned in the prior post that we really liked Miner’s Cup. We again ordered three breakfast burritos and coffees, this time parking outside instead of waiting in the drive-thru.
And again the burritos were a great breakfast to get us energized for the morning.
Jewel Cave National Monument
There aren’t many places where you can tour two of the world’s longest and most interesting caves in successive days without leaving the same general area. But the Black Hills are one such place. The prior day we visited Wind Cave, and this morning we were visiting Jewel Cave.
We had visited Jewel Cave in 2013 (when Evan was a 6-month-old baby) but could only visit a single cave room on a tour that was limited to an elevator ride down and back up. With Evan now a 13-year-old, we could do the one-and-a-half hour scenic tour and truly explore the cave.
The drive to Jewel Cave took us westward, to a higher elevation location where the air was cooler than anywhere we had previously been in the Black Hills. Likewise we passed through an area of forest that had been badly burned in 2013. In 2026 the forest was in full recovery.
We entered the visitor center and after encountering a rather rude ranger that was gatekeeping the line to the tour, we were able to start the 9:40 tour.
The features of Jewel Cave were very different from Wind Cave. There is boxwork in Jewel Cave, but far less than Wind Cave. Jewel Cave however is full of calcyte that make the walls appear to be almost covered in bumpy, calcyte crystals.
Additionally, Jewel Cave is a wetter environment than Wind Cave and that allows speleothems to form. These are the stalactites, stalagmites, columns, soda straws, and draperies. And our favorite: cave bacon.
To say that cave bacon looks like a giant slice of actual bacon is an understatement.
Jewel Cave gave us the impression of almost being in an undersea world. The walls of the cave resembled coral and the oozing stalactites often resembled weird starfish.
In the end we really enjoyed having toured both caves and experiencing the contrasts between them.
But here is a question posed by both tours. Since the caves are so extensive and have so many passages left to be discovered, could they merge somewhere deep underground and form a single cave that is the longest in the world?
The ranger at Wind Cave said she doesn’t think it is possible and the entire cave system at Wind Cave is concentrated in a relatively small area. At Jewel Cave, however, they don’t outright dismiss the possibility.
Custer
After touring Jewel Cave we had only just over an hour to get lunch and drive to Hill City for our E-Bike rentals. I considered stopping at a sit-down hamburger restaurant in Custer as we passed through, but to avoid any unnecessary delays we just had drive-thru hamburgers from Dairy Queen.
We would eat better later.
Hill City
I read about the Mickelson Bike Trail while I was planning the trip and decided that it would be fun for the three of us to rent E-Bikes for several hours of riding on the trail.
I just had to decide which section of the trail would be the most fun, and where we could rent bikes for the right amount of time and a decent price.
I read that the portion of the trail between Hill City and Deadwood was the most scenic as it traveled through mountain wilderness and through rail tunnels. The Mickelson Trail was built along the path of former train tracks from the mining days.
I eventually decided to start in Hill City and journey north, and to rent from Bicycles and Boats. I highly recommend them for several reasons. 1) They great bikes and good prices 2) They give you storage bags and a toolkit 3) They are right long the trail path in Hill City and have parking right at their business 4) They are very helpful and give you maps, directions, and suggestions.
The weather looked like it might rain, but the skies held back for us. We had a lot of fun and went to the first rail tunnel (about 12 miles from Hill City) before deciding we better start back and not get rained on.
I highly recommend taking a day to rent bikes (E-Bikes do help with the inclines but any non-motorized bike will do) and enjoy the Mickelson Trail.
After the ride it was still a bit early for dinner, but we were pretty sure we wanted to go to Rapid City for our favorite brew pub. Along the way we debated how to burn a little time. Eventually we pulled over at the epitome of a kitschy tourist attraction.
Rapid City
Bear Country U.S.A.
We love zoos. We also love wildlife and animals in general. Bear Country U.S.A., however, is one of those places that we usually wouldn’t go to. We don’t like places that kind of straddle the line between rescuing and protecting wildlife, and exploiting it.
But we were in the Rapid City outskirts and needed to kill about an hour of time. So…why not.
On the drive through the park we saw lots and lots of bears, and bighorns, and wolves, and more. More bears than I ever think I’ll see again in one place, in fact.
After the wildlife tour we stopped at the outdoor section and saw the bear cubs and timber wolves, and porcupines. It was cute, but I don’t think we’d do it again.
The animals did appear healthy and happy overall, though.
Fire House Brewing Company
We’ve been to brew pubs all over the US, and even outside the US. But the very best, in my opinion, is in Rapid City, South Dakota.
We always have a great time dining at Fire House Brewing Company. The food is great, the beer is great, the atmosphere is top notch. The wait staff is top notch.
We’ve been there three times (2013, 2020, and 2026) and every time it’s been great.
We’ll be back again. Heck we even told the waitress about our future glamping resort and she said she’d be watching for it to open and hopes to visit it.
After dinner, it was time to go back to the other glamping place for one more night. Then onto the next set of destinations.
We woke up early after a night of rather uncomfortable sleep in the Under Canvas safari tent. It had been an unseasonably cold night for June but fortunately we had a wood-burning stove in the tent for heat.
Our 13-year-old had come to our tent since his kid’s tent had no heat and we managed to sleep three to a king-sized bed.
We were not about to spend the outrageous prices that the glamping resort charged for food so we quickly showered and dressed, then got in the truck to head to our next destination: Wind Cave National Park.
It was a very nice morning for the drive and we pulled off at a scenic area with a profile view of George Washington.
It was interesting to see the surface features of the sculpture, such as the way in which the eye has a section of protruding stone to give the illusion of light hitting the cornea, and the noticeable cracks that will eventually cause features like the nose to fall away. Fortunately, the sculptures will remain intact and well cared-for for many centuries.
Custer
Miner’s Cup
Along the way we stopped off for coffee and some breakfast. We found a terrific coffee and breakfast spot called Miner’s Cup. We ordered three breakfast burritos to go with our coffees and they were so good we made a return stop the next day.
We drove south from Custer and about an hour later arrived at the Wind Cave visitor center for our 9:20 AM Natural Entrance tour.
Wind Cave National Park
We entered the visitor center and actually spent about 20 minutes in the wrong line. We already had cave tour reservations so we could have just gone straight to the front desk and picked up our passes. They didn’t mark the lines with signs so it wasn’t our fault.
At any rate we picked up our passes and walked out to the waiting area with plenty of time to spare.
While sitting outside we played some Oregon Trail on my phone. It’s the same game I played as a kid on an Apple II.
Once the full tour group and the ranger had arrived, we were ready to start the walk to the cave entrance.
The natural cave entrance is only about a foot in diameter and would be easy to miss (I certainly would not have noticed it if we hadn’t been led there by the ranger). A gentle wind (hence Wind Cave) blows into or out of the cave depending on the external air pressure relative to the cave. The park service hung scarves over the entry gap to help visitors see the movement of air from the cave.
Wind cave is most famous for the boxwork formations and this cave has more box work than any other cave in the world.
Boxwork is formed when cracks in the surrounding rock layers are filled in with calcite, which is a harder material than the surrounding limestone. Over the course of millions of years the limestone dissolved away leaving the intricate patterns of calcite on the ceilings and walls.
We had a good time in the cave, although I would have been happy to take longer and see more of the cave than the hour and a half allowed.
After the cave tour we decided to enjoy some of the surface areas of Wind Cave. Wind Cave has been a national park since 1903 when it was established as the sixth national park, and the landscape is the best protected wilderness in the Black Hills.
It is the home to bison herds, pronghorn, and thousands of prairie dogs.
I took the Cold Brook Canyon Trail from the road for about a mile until I came to a massive prairie dog town in a large meadow.
Prairie Dogs in Wind Cave NP
After the short hike, we drove north from Wind Cave into Custer State Park.
Custer State Park
Custer State Park ought to be a national park. It has more to see and do than most national parks, is full of wildlife, and has some of the Black Hills best scenery.
Originally our plan was to go straight to the Sylvan Lake area and hike the Black Elk Peak trail, but we just couldn’t skip by the Wildlife Loop. We were happier with the revised plan.
Wildlife Loop
The Wildlife Loop is an 18-mile loop drive that leads through habitat for bison, pronghorns, deer, and donkeys. Yes, donkeys. Feral donkeys that are the descendants of animals left in the park by miners over a hundred years ago.
We first encountered a large bison herd that included many active calves. The calves were playing and butting heads with other calves.
Bison Calves in Custer State Park
After watching the bison we continued on until we found the donkeys down in a section of land shaded by cottonwood trees.
The donkeys range in age from old nags to young colts. Some are friendly and some are temperamental. They not surprisingly show more interest to those people who come bearing carrots and other snacks. We brought nothing but our friendliness, which made us less popular.
After petting the donkeys we continued onward and saw some pronghorns.
I got a few good photos of a grazing pronghorn near the end of the loop.
After enjoying the loop drive it was time for lunch. I had made reservations for dinner at 6 PM at the Sylvan Lake Lodge, but we were hungry now and the Game Lodge was just a couple miles away. We decided to go there instead.
Game Lodge Dining Room
The Game Lodge offered buffet lunch, but we opted for burgers and mac ‘n cheese. My burger was delicious but Shelley and Evan weren’t crazy about their mac ‘n cheese dinner plates. Burgers tend to be more reliably good.
While eating lunch we played more Oregon Trail. I showed Shelley and Evan how to win.
The Needles Highway
The Needles are an incredible geologic feature of the park and the highway passes slowly through some of the best scenery. The road narrows to one lane in many areas including several tunnels.
Shelley was nervous driving my truck on the narrow, winding road so I took the wheel after a stop at an overlook. I drove onward from there to our next stop: Sylvan Lake.
Sylvan Lake
Upon entering the Sylvan Lake parking area we found it disappointingly crowded. We had wanted to take the short trail around the very pretty lake, but Shelley rightly said we should move on to a less busy place.
I stopped at the very nice Sylvan Lake Lodge and we took a couple distant photos of the lake.
After our brief stop, we were ready to go back to the tent to rest a bit and decide on our dinner options.
Keystone Pub Grub
We let Evan choose the dinner spot for the night and he chose Keystone Pub Grub which was just down the hill from Under Canvas in Keystone.
They are right next to an arcade called Sprockets, but Evan wasn’t really interested in it. The food was very meh, but they did serve beer. I ordered brisket mac n’ cheese this time and it wasn’t very good.
Under Canvas Mount Rushmore
Afterward we were ready to go back to UC to try out the evening s’mores. The resort had only a few fire pits for the entire resort and the s’more setup was kind of stupid.
They were repackaging Hershey’s chocolate in their own packaging and everyone had to take turns at the few fire pits. A kid was reaching his dirty hands into the shared marshmallow jar.
Yeah…
We at least had a better fire in the stove that night.
And I got some photos of the local wildlife around the tent.
The Black Hills of South Dakota are a unique place. They are chock full of natural and historic places, and are a huge part of the American story in a year in which we’re celebrating the semiquincentennial year of the United States: America 250.
We had a lot of reasons to make a road trip to the Black Hills in June of 2026:
1) To explore places we have never been to on prior trips.
2) To revisit some sites with our now 13-year-old son that he had only visited once as a 6-month old baby.
3) To enjoy the great American roadtrip with some out-of-way and out-of-the-ordinary tourist stops along the way.
4) And finally, to see if the Black Hills might be a place to open a future campground business we hope to pursue in the next few years.
Day 1: Wednesday: The Drive to Cheyenne, Wyoming
We decided to start the journey with a Wednesday afternoon drive up to Cheyenne, Wyoming after work to better position ourselves for the roadtrip the following day. By spending a night in Cheyenne we’d bypass the traffic in the Denver metro and give us two extra hours to explore.
The 2-hour drive north on the I-25 from our home we have done dozens of times, but since it was our intention to take our time, we made a stop at the Buc-ee’s in Berthoud, Colorado and had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Colorado: Nordy’s in Loveland.
At Buc-ees we picked up some road trip snacks: glazed almonds, pecans, and cashews, cinnamon-roll frosted pretzels, etc. We brought our Blue cooler and could put anything that might need to be kept cool within (like the chocolate Overbites). And, on a Wednesday evening, it wasn’t even crazily busy within the store.
We’ve made stops at Nordy’s on a bunch of roadtrip vacations over the years and I also enjoy walking in the door, seeing the Western decor, and smelling the delicious BBQ. Since it’s only about 30 miles from Nordy’s to Cheyenne, we also could have a beer with our dinner.
I ordered the Carolina pulled pork sandwich with corn fritters and it was delicious as usual. Nordy’s is one of those places I’ll genuinely miss if we leave Colorado.
Earlier this year I signed up for the Marriott Bonvoy Chase Card. And because we spent the $3000 within the first three nights, I received five free nights at Marriott branded hotels.
It’s a nice new hotel on the southwest side of the city. The room was clean and comfortable and the breakfast the next morning was also good.
The hotel is across the street from train tracks and trains are frequently passing by throughout the day and night. I called ahead when I booked to request a room on the backside of the hotel which faces a parking area and open land. Some of the reviews mention train noise, but I can say the back of the hotel is very quiet.
This is a photo from our room on the 4th floor. I would certainly stay there again, especially with Bonvoy points.
Day 2: Thursday: Cheyenne to the Black Hills via the Nebraska Panhandle
When I made plans for the roadtrip I decided it would be interesting to take a route further east instead of our typical route directly north through Wyoming.
We would make the second day all about the journey and not the destination.
This would be a day that would see us on the road early, and going to sleep late. We ate a hot breakfast in the hotel then got out on the road.
Holiday Park Big Boy Locomotive
The first stop of the day was in Cheyenne, Wyoming itself. We are train aficionados (especially my 13-year-old Evan) and the chance to see a Big Boy locomotive was something we were not going to pass up.
The Union Pacific Railroad company built the Big Boy steam engines in the 1940s to run between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah. They are still the largest locomotives ever built.
Only a few Big Boy engines still exist and I’m aware of only one that is still running. The one at Holiday Park in Cheyenne has been idle since the 1960s. But they are absolutely huge and well worth seeing.
The engine is 132 feet long with eight drive wheels on both sides. The tender is by itself as large as a modern diesel engine.
After spending some time walking around the engine and taking photos, we returned to my truck to start off for the next destination (with a stop for coffee at a Ziggi’s in Cheyenne before leaving town).
There are two interesting reasons to visit Scott’s Bluff.
First, the bluff itself stands about 800 feet above the surrounding prairie and offers distant views of the surrounding bluffs, the North Platte river, and the city of Scottsbluff, NE. There are numerous scenic trails to explore from the summit.
Second, is the bluff’s significance to Oregon Trail pioneers. When the pioneers were traveling in wagon trains for over the two thousand miles, they did so at a time when road signs and GPS were a distant dream. Instead, they noted their progress by passing notable geographic landmarks.
Scott’s Bluff was a passageway for the wagon trains as the journeyed west.
First we walked along the Oregon trail path which has conestoga wagons on display (one with faux oxen), giving a sense of what the wagons would have once looked like passing over the same ground.
Afterward we drove to the top of the bluff to do some short hikes (I also ran down a section and ran back up to exercise my legs before we continued on with the drive). The bluff top is fairly extensive and the trails lead all the way to the base if you want to skip the drive.
Since we had limited time and a big day planned, after about an hour we needed to move on to our next stop: Chimney Rock.
Chimney Rock National Historic Site
We drove a section of highway between Scott’s Bluff and Chimney Rock along the same route that the Oregon Trail would have traveled in the reverse direction (we were traveling southeast and the Oregon trail traveled northwest).
Like Scott’s Bluff, Chimney Rock was an important landmark on the Oregon Trail. And this landmark is so significant it is featured on the Nebraska license plate and in the game Oregon Trail.
There are two areas to visit at Chimney Rock: The Nebraska State Historical Society run museum and trails, and the privately owned Walk to the Rock.
We first visited the state park section which is more distant from the landmark but includes the museum. Chimney Rock is a historic site because the Oregon Trail pioneers used it as a landmark and also engraved their names on the sandstone (but you can’t get close enough to the monument to see the engravings).
After visiting the museum we proceeded to the next section of the monument which was only opened a few years ago: Walk to the Rock.
Walk to the Rock is just a short half mile drive up from the museum parking lot and allows you to view Chimney Rock from much better vantage points. You still can’t approach any closer than a couple hundred feet, but you can see more of the geologic details of this iconic landmark.
You will absolutely want to visit Walk to the Rock as the views are simply much better and provide different viewing angles as well.
Alliance, Nebraska
After an hour and a half at Chimney Rock we needed to keep moving. We needed to find a place to have a picnic lunch and I found Laing Park in Alliance, Nebraska. All we needed was a quiet spot with picnic tables and that is what we found.
The park had a nice lake and was very quiet, but we were a little disappointed by the amount of litter left behind by someone’s birthday party.
We stopped to look at some neat ducks by the lakeside. One appeared to be a wood duck.
Carhenge
The real reason for proceeding to Alliance, Nebraska was to see a famous tourist attraction that mimics Stonehenge in England, but using old cars: Carhenge.
Carhenge helps draw tourists to Alliance, Nebraska and it is really a cool scale model of the ancient Druid monument.
We walked around the car structures, and the oddball dinosaur and other monsters on the site. We wanted to visit the gift shop, but there was a pretty bad odor inside so we decided to just get back on the road. We still had a lot to do that day.
Chadron, Nebraska
Driving north from Alliance, Nebraska the terrain begins to change from the Sandhills region of Nebraska into the rugged southern end of the Black Hills. I wanted to stop at Chadron State Park (and it would have made a prettier lunch spot), but we were running short of time and needed to make a stop at the local Walmart for a few supplies.
With the shopping done it was time to leave Nebraska behind and cross the state line into South Dakota.
The Black Hills
The South Dakota Black Hills are both a mountain range and a major cultural and historical region that defines western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming.
We had a busy itinerary planned for our time in the Black Hills over the next several days.
Under Canvas Mount Rushmore
I mentioned that my wife Shelley and I want to eventually open a glamping business and we thought it would be fun idea to spend a few mights at the biggest glamping chain in the US: Under Canvas.
I will have a lot to say about our experience here in a subsequent post (overpriced and overall bad), but I’ll just say in this post that we were staying in a Safari Tent with an additional Kid’s Tent.
After we got checked in and put our luggage in the tent we were hungry and drove to Hill City for dinner.
Prairie Dog Taproom, Hill City
The guy who checked us into our tent at Under Canvas recommended the Prairie Dog Taproom in Hill City. The food was good, but it was also rather difficult to order because everything was done via phone and text message. I felt like we needed a user guide for the restraunt when all we wanted was some cold beers and a pizza.
They did have friendly staff and a lot of games to play while eating. The waitress told us all about her life and asked us for personal advice after just meeting us. We said what we always say: You do you.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
The final stop of the night was probably the most important for us in this year of the semiquincentennial: Mount Rushmore.
We visited Mount Rushmore on the previous visits in 2013 and 2020, but we felt we should visit again, this time at night for the evening program with the lighting ceremony.
We had to make a quick getaway from the Prairie Dog Taphouse conversation to make sure we could get over to Mount Rushmore in time to get in line for ice cream. They serve an original recipe that was Thomas Jefferson’s own and it is so very good.
After eating our ice cream we walked over to the gift shop for much needed sweat shirts. We were cold and under-dressed for a night at the monunent. The Black Hills were relatively cool (60s and low 70s F) during our trip and it was in the 40s F during the evening lighting ceremony.
The lighting ceremony was quite nice. A ranger spoke about why he chose to become a park ranger, there was a video about the American experience, and finally all of the military vets and gold star families were called down from the audience to the stage to lower the flag.
The illumination of the memorial was as good as I had hoped.
Afterward we headed back to our glamping tent for the night. We got to sleep at about 11 PM after a long, but fun day.
We took a break from things and spent a couple nights in Breckenridge. Breck (as it’s called in Colorado) has a lot more to offer than just skiing.
As you can see, we went hiking on the Quandary Peak trail which is about six miles south of Breckenridge. It was a nice day hike for the morning with no real intention to summit since it’s still early in the season and the weather changed to snow just as we left the trail.
We did get to about 12,000 feet and halfway up the trail. Evan and Shelley are new to 14er hiking and it’s important to work your way up to the challenge. Next time we’ll go further. I have another post and video of the full hike to the top of Quandary Peak on the blog.
Afterward we had a nice lunch at a pizza place called Fatty’s Pizzeria. We had entered two other places nearby but didn’t find the vibe right (they are next to and across the street from Fatty’s). Fatty’s was chill and had great pizza and drinks.
Afterward we walked around the town. We stayed at the Marriott Mountain Valley Lodge where I had two free nights to use with Bonvoy Points. The location in town is great and it’s right by the ski slopes in winter (although my Bonvoy Points won’t cover the price in the winter).
In the pond next to the hotel Shelley and Evan saw a beaver. Somehow I missed it but the did get a photo!
The winter of 2025-26 has been really warm and dry in Colorado and in much of the western states. The snowpack in Colorado is at the lowest level it has been at since the 1940s when the snowpack measurements were first recorded.
In December we decided to make reservations for Crested Butte over the Easter weekend. We’ve gone skiing in early April before (Keystone in 2019, Steamboat Springs in 2013, and even Snowbird in Utah in 2003). Of those trips only Steamboat was a bit scant on snow. Snowbird and Keystone had epic levels of snow those years.
So we were looking forward to good skiing at reduced lodging rates and with thinner crowds than in the prime of ski season.
The only problem was the snowfall levels across Colorado were incredibly low. So low that many resorts have closed early or shut down a number of runs. Even Crested Butte closed part of its terrain early due to low snowfall totals.
A week before our trip we saw video of bare ground under the ski lifts and all over the slopes. Rocks, grass, and baby trees. Was it even worth trying to ski? I planned to pack our hiking boots just in case we needed an alternate plan.
Well, mother nature came through for us. Crested Butte received 20 inches of snow the day before we arrived. Enough snow to basically return the runs to a pretty decent shape for a good day of skiing.
So we got out on the slopes post-snowstorm in 50 degree weather on closing weekend. And we had as much fun as I can remember having on a day of skiing.
Warm enough to ski in a hooded sweatshirt without a coat (some skiers were wearing even less). Crowds thin on the slopes and no lines to ride the lifts. We were down and up more times than I can remember on one day and skied more trails than I remember in one day too.
Six hours of skiing with only a short break for lunch. My son now old enough to go on his own or with me as he pleased. My wife able to enjoy the resort, have coffees and meet us for lunch without crowds or cold weather. By the end of the day we were plenty sunburned and tired but pretty darn happy.
As usual we also saw a lot of wildlife in our short visit to Crested Butte too We saw a fox right outside our hotel room, some moose just down the street from the hotel, and some bighorns and a heron on the drive back home.
And we made a morning stop at Paradise Cafe (but it wasn’t quite as good this time).
Overall though, it was a good trip. We vow to NOT wait until the end of ski season next year.
And I think we’ll visit Crested Butte in the summer too.
On our third day we decided to go to the original Universal Studios park. We had been there once before in October of 2021, but there were several parts of the park that we had yet to visit.
Evan and I walked the mile long path from the Loew’s Portofino Resort while Shelley elected to ride the water shuttle. We arrived at nearly the same time. Riding the water shuttle means stopping for several minutes at the Hard Rock Hotel pier, so it isn’t necessarily faster.
Universal Studios
After entering we decided we should eat breakfast and stopped at the Today Cafe. I’m not a fan of the Today Show and while we were waiting in line the show was airing on televisions around the restaurant. I thought to myself “People actually watch this” as we slowly progressed through the line.
Well, despite the badness of the Today Show episode, the breakfast sandwich was pretty decent. We ordered cold brew coffees as well which was missing the vanilla flavor we requested. Not the best, but at least we ate something.
After breakfast we walked over to ride one of the few original rides from the park’s opening: E.T. Adventure. It was a ride we missed in 2021 and we decided to give it a try.
The ride opened in 1990 and it does show its age a bit. It broke down for about ten minutes near the end of our ride, but it was a little bit of nostalgia from back when I was young.
Next we decided to ride another rather old ride: Men in Black: Alien Attack. This ride opened in 2000. I have to admit, it wasn’t even as good a E.T. It was a lame shooting ride that is overdone, and better done elsewhere.
It was Mardi Gras time in the park and as we walked around we were collecting beads from the staff. Soon enough we were up to three bead necklaces and I was looking forward to enjoying some of the many food options that you can buy from food stands around the park during Mardi Gras season.
Diagon Alley
Entering Diagon Alley is like completely leaving Universal Studios and entering a totally different park. You are suddenly in a Harry Potter world.
If you buy a wand there are lots of spots in Diagon Alley where you can interact with hidden spell casting spots to reveal various secrets. Evan and Shelley found a number of these spots in the alley and in Nocturn Alley.
The coolest feature of Diagon Alley is the dragon perched at the top of Gringotts Bank. Every fifteen minutes or so it will breathe fire. And it is hot!
Escape from Gringotts
The biggest and best ride in the park is Escape from Gringotts. We got in line using our Express Lane passes and made our way about 2/3 of the way through before the ride broke down. We waited about 20 minutes (not wanting to have to return and wait in line again) before giving up. The ride ended up broken down for about two hours.
After giving up on Escape from Gringotts, we left Diagon Alley to go to the second most popular ride in the park: The Revenge of the Mummy.
Revenge of the Mummy
Fortunately, the Revenge of the Mummy was working just fine. And it really is a good ride that is debatably better than Escape from Gringotts. It’s a good roller coaster experience in an Egyptian Tomb with everything including pyrotechnic blaze on the ceiling.
Plus, I am a fan of Egyptology and I enjoyed talking about the various gods adorning the walls as we waited in line.
I’m also a fan of Harry Potter, so we were certainly going back there once Escape from Gringotts reopened.
Bourne Stuntacular
After the Mummy ride we went to the Bourne Stuntacular, which we missed in 2021 as well. I actually read the Bourne Identity but only partly watched the movie.
The stunt show is really good and intermingles live stunts on stage with action and scenes on screen. At times the interaction is so seemless it’s hard to tell what is live and what is film. There isn’t much dialogue other than the recorded narration by Julia Stiles (who was in the movie). I don’t see her often in movies.
Minion Cafe
Since the Escape from Gringotts was still closed we decided it was time for lunch. I really wanted to eat the Mardi Gras food from the booths, but Evan (being a huge fan of the Minions from Despicable Me) begged and pestered us to go to Minion Cafe. Fine.
This place has some of the most unspectacular food in the park. It’s a fast food restaurant with a minion theme.
Yeah, the trip was mostly for Evan. We could have just ordered him some food there and then Shelley and I could have gotten the Mardi Gras food I wanted.
After eating some bad Mac n’ Cheese with a few pieces of pork, we returned to Diagon Alley and were able to ride the Escape from Gringotts.
Escape from Gringotts
I rode this with Evan and his older brother in 2021 and for some reason it seemed more exciting back then.
I guess after the ride broke down and after riding many other theme park rides, it seems a little less impressive. Still good, especially with the animatronic goblins in the bank.
After the ride we spent more time using the wands to interact with various spell spots before deciding it was time to start our walk back to the exit. We were getting tired and hot.
We made one stop for beignets and some king cake from a Mardi Gras stand. That was it. We should have had much more.
Anyway, once we exited the park I again elected to walk back and Shelley and Evan decided to ride the boat. I think we tied again on our arrival back at the hotel.
Loew’s Portofino Bay Hotel
By the time we got back to the hotel we were pretty tired. Our room had been cleaned and our beds were made. I really wanted to take a nap. Really needed one too.
I think it’s wise to rest when you are tired. Otherwise you’ll get cranky and all the little aggravations of long lines and crowds and noise will start to get to you. The prior day we ended up taking a four hour nap and ended up waking up with only an hour to spare at Epic Universe.
We didn’t want that to happen again so we just stayed up and rested on the beds watching television, fighting the urge to sleep. Should have just set an alarm and dozed off. But we didn’t and we felt tired the rest of the night.
Epic Universe
Oak and Star Tavern
As on the prior days, each evening we went back to Epic Universe for the evening. We went to the Oak and Star Tavern for BBQ. The barbecue is decent, but not spectacular. I had the pulled pork sandwich.
We also had some beers. Note that using the Universal mobile app limits you to one alcoholic beverage per order, so if you want to order more you’ll need to either go to the bar or make separate orders on more than one phone.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Inside the Ministry of Magic
We were kind of tired and wanted some chill time. So we went into the WWOHP, which is a little like traveling to France for a while.
While our son Evan sought out spots to use his wand, Shelley and I bout some cocktails and found a table to relax. We went to Bar Moonshine and got Lobe Blasters. Really unique and interesting cocktails. And good too!
After Evan finished wizarding with his wand around the WWOHP, we got in line for La Cirque Arcanus. This was the first show we would see in the park.
La Cirque Arcanus
I thought La Cirque Arcanus was really cool. The tent was atmospheric and gave real vibes of a vintage Parisian circus. The show featured magical creatures and their human handlers. The show isn’t long, so don’t expect to spend hours, but rather thirty minutes.
Cafe La Sirene
After the show we stopped for dessert at Cafe La Sirene. We got the butterbeer crepe (called the bieraubeurre crepe in French). Really good! We decided to return the following morning for breakfast.
Isle of Berk
We made one more stop in the Isle of Berk before calling it a night. Shelley and Evan rode Dragon Racer’s Rally. They enjoyed it. I felt good just watching from below after a long day.
Day 4
On our fourth and last day we were going to spend the day in Epic Universe. We’d been there each of the prior days in the evening, but this was the first time e’d be in the park during the day.
Epic Universe
We entered the park after the bus ride and made our way back to the the Harry Potter portal, noticing that with our early access passes we could avoid being among the mass of humanity roped off from the park.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Cafe La Sirene
‘La Sirene’ means mermaid in French. And we noticed the decor in Cafe La Sirene does include mermaids, among other Parisian-themed artwork.
We order quiche lorraine for breakfast, which was a nice change of pace from our typical morning routine. The food was overall quite good but it isn’t terribly cheap either. Expect that when you are in Epic Universe.
The Constellation Carousel
The park is comprised of the four “worlds” (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Dark Universe, Isle of Berk, and Super Nintendo World) you enter through portals (or tunnel-like entrances that separate the park from the themed attractions inside).
The fifth world is Celestial Park which is the central area of the park. The main ride attractions are Stardust Racers (which nearly killed me the first day), and the Constellation Carousel.
The carousel has multiple rotating sections that make it more than a typical carousel. This was also a nice chill ride after some of the more exciting features of the park.
Isle of Berk
Mead Hall
We had a couple of more stops to make in Isle of Berk before we were done for the trip. The first was to visit the Mead Hall. Evan wanted to re-ride Dragon Racer’s Ralley, so Shelley and I took the intervening half hour to enjoy some mead and beer. It’s also a restaurant, but we were just there to enjoy some cold, drinks.
We also took turns seated as the Viking chieftain.
When Evan was done racing we went over to see the second show of our trip.
The Untrainable Dragon
This was a good show as well with some good actors who sound just like the characters and dragon props. Make sure you get in line early because they do reach capacity and we were just barely able to make it in before they closed off the show.
If you are wondering, it is about an untrainable dragon that eats all the main characters like Hiccup and Astrid. Well, not exactly.
Pizza Moon
One restaurant we were pretty intent on visiting was Pizza Moon. Once we saw how the restaurant was themed we made it a priority stop on the trip for lunch. And we weren’t alone, this place gets a long line that runs out the door.
We already understood the meaning of the logo with the pizza in the eye of the moon, but just in case you don’t, here’s the explanation. In 1902 a French filmmaker (when filmmaking was in its infancy) named Georges Méliès made a short film called “A Trip to the Moon”.
In the movie a group board a rocket (without space suits) and they land on the moon. Of course the moon isn’t just a celestial body, but it is a living being with a face too. And the poor moon gets hit right in the eye.
Scene from “A Trip to the Moon”
The clever people at Universal decided to swap the rocket for a slice of pizza.
The interior is full of whimsical characters swinging back and forth as they make pizza sauce under a starlit night sky.
The pizza is also really good and not at all typical. We got the ‘Pizza Lunare’ (pictured above) and ‘a Trip to Vesuvio’.
This is one restaurant you’ll want to make sure to visit.
After lunch we decided to make our way back to the hotel. Evan was starting to feel ill and we were ready to get some rest after four days in the parks. Despite his condition he insisted on riding Stardust Racers one last time and came off looking like he he’d been through something traumatic.
Loew’s Portofino Bay
We returned to the hotel and Evan crawled into bed. He looked like he was feeling quite ill by now and he had a slight fever. Exhaustion coupled with crowds had gotten to him.
Shelley and I decided to let him rest and we went to one of the hotel pools, the one hardly anyone knows about. Tucked away on a hillside is the third pool in the resort.
When we got there only one other person was was there, but they left after a while leaving just Shelley and I at the pool. While in the pool Shelley noticed a small box turtle had fallen into the pool and was trapped.
We rescued it by taking it far away from the pool and human traffic and closer to the lakeshore where it is hopefully living contentedly right now.
After retrning to the room we saw that Evan was still feeling too sick for us to consider leaving the resort. We got takeout from a resort eatery called Sal’s. The chicken parmesan sandwiches were huge. Sal’s is a ittle pricey too though.
Final Thoughts
With that our trip was pretty much at an end, which was fine. Fortunately Evan felt better the next morning and our flight home was uneventful. He did seem to have chills though right as we landed back home in Denver.
This trip was close to two years in planning and despite some frustrations with traffic on arrival in Florida and crowds that were larger and a bit annoying at times, it went well. Evan got to ride everything he wanted, we visited all the parks and got to see pretty much all of Epic Universe.
We would have benefited from more down time though. When we went to Universal in Oct 2021 we took a whole week and it was nice to take a couple days to rest and decompress. It’s also nice to have some more pool time and to enjoy the resort as well.
Because we chose to go when Evan was not on spring or fall break, we were really time-limited. We didn’t want him to miss more than a couple days of school and thus we were never going beyond five days.
While it was fun to go to Universal, our next visit to Florida will almost certainly be to a new region along the Gulf Coast. We also have a future cruise in the planning stages that will probably depart from Florida. We do like Florida (especially the warm, humid weather) and it never seems too much time passes before we are back again.
We made a trip back to Florida this February of 2026 to spend four days at the Universal Orlando Resort. The new Epic Universe park opened in May 2025 and we wanted to experience this newest theme park, as well as revisit Islands of Adventure and the original Universal Studios park, two theme parks we enjoyed on a visit in October of 2021.
We started planning this trip even before Epic Universe opened, with the time between our initial decision to go and our actual arrival being close to two years in total. We planned to wait until the year following the park opening before making the trip, when there would hopefully be a decrease in the crowds at the park’s inauguration, and to give the new rides and attractions some time to be seasoned enough to have the kinks worked out.
Since our youngest son is in middle school we had to figure out a time that would work with his school schedule. Obviously spring break in March was an option, as was the summer. But he also has a short break in February right before and including President’s Day weekend. And this seemed like a good time to travel to Florida when the tourist season wasn’t yet in full swing.
So we committed ourselves to this trip all the way back in 2024. And nine months after the opening of Epic Universe, we were there at last to see it for ourselves.
We initially booked a room in the new Helios Grand Hotel before the hotel was even open. Once the hotel was finished, and we saw the initial photos and videos of the hotel, we decided to cancel our reservation. We just weren’t wowed by what we saw, even if we had booked it at a rate that was significantly less than it wold be when the park finally opened. Instead we chose another Universal resort hotel: The Loews Portofino Bay.
We were able to book the Portofino at a discount as well, and it offered free Express Pass tickets, a perk not offered by the Helios Grand for some reason. Also, the Portofino Bay is in walking distance of two of the resorts (Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios), as well as the Universal City Walk. And finally, the Portofino actually seemed to have more amenities and it would be in a quieter location, giving us an evening respite from the parks.
We had five total days available for the trip, and decided to use the first day to visit Blue Spring State Park just north of Orlando (see the prior blog post). After enjoying the state park and manatees we drove back south to Orlando to the Universal resort.
Along the way we stopped at Ford’s Garage restaurant in Sanford. That was a pretty cool experience (it looks like they are located all over Florida).
Day 1
Loew’s Portofino Bay
We made our way to the hotel in our Avis rental car, knowing that the hotel has an Avis rental car location right in the hotel. The weird thing, however, is there is absolutely no signage to tell you where to go. After pulling up the valet parking, they told us to enter the self-parking garage and drive all the way to the bottom.
After doing so we found some marked Avis spots and parked the car, then lugged our luggage up to the hotel. If you are using valet parking they provide assistance, but if you self-park or arrive in a rental car, you are on your own.
Anyway, we got to the front desk and checked in, and finally got some help with our luggage to our room. Most places will let you borrow a luggage cart, but at this hotel they are very particular about only allowing their staff to use the carts.
After getting to our room we unpacked and got ready to take the bus over to Epic Universe. We had park hopper tickets for four days, so we could come and go between the parks as we pleased. We also had reservations at the Blue Dragonrestaurant at 5:30, so with it being 3:00 PM we would have a couple hours in the park before dinner time.
Epic Universe
After a quick bus trip from the hotel to Epic Universe (which is disconnected from the other parks) we arrived and made our way through the security and into the park.
I’m honestly not a thrill seeker and I am prone to motion sickness. But my youngest son pestered and prodded me into riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster right after we entered the park.
I have been on roller coasters before but this one made me feel really awful. Like my insides were shaken loose from their normal positions. When the coaster rolled to a stop I waddled out, vowing to never ride it again.
Following this traumatizing experience, feeling motion sick and dizzy, we made our way over to the Dark Universe world.
Dark Universe
We got in line for Monsters Unchained. I really wanted to enjoy this ride more but I was paranoid about getting motion sick and puking following the Stardust Racers and my last experience on a ride that had a similar apparatus at Islands of Adventure (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey). But this ride didn’t have screens which helped a lot.
It was pretty cool even though about 2/3 of the way through it momentarily stopped.
After the ride there wasn’t enough time for a ride line so we went to the Burning Blade Tavern to have some mead, ale and a stake-shaped breadstick. Pretty cool seeing the windmill ignite too.
Windmill of the Burning Blade Tavern
After eating it was time to mosey over to the Blue Dragon for dinner.
Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant
It felt good to sit down in the Blue Dragon to fully recover from Stardust Racers and because the interior is impressively decorated with dragons wrapping around the walls and Asian artwork throughout.
The restaurant is expensive ($30 per plate dishes) and they don’t hide that fact. The overall meals was good, but not as good as we were really hoping for. We had to send back the Orange Chicken because it came out lukewarm (clearly had been sitting before being brought out).
The dishes are served family style so you’ll want to order a variety of entrees and share them. The beef and broccoli and passion fruit moon cake were our favorites.
Super Nintendo World
After dinner we went to Super Nintendo World and entered Bowser’s Challenge. It is a virtual reality ride where you shoot guns to score points.
Next we rode Yoshi’s Adventure which was pretty slow and chill. My son Evan found Yoshi’s Adventure to be a terrifying experience. I could barely fit in the car but it’s all good.
Evan and I bought power up bands which allowed us to play an interactive game by hitting punch blocks and doing game challenges in Super Nintendo World.
There is a phone app that keeps score as you go through Super Ninendo World and Evan and I did our best to collect all the points that we could from the punch blocks.
After a long day that extended all the way to 10:00 PM at night, we were ready to go to bed and rode the bus back to the Portofino Hotel.
Day 2
On our second day at the Universal parks we left the hotel before eating breakfast and walked the mile path from the hotel to Islands of Adventure. Since we had Express Pass and were staying in a resort hotel we had early access to the park.
Islands of Adventure
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
We made our way over to Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure since this is one of the most popular rides in any of the parks and we knew the line would be much longer later in the day. With Express Pass at the park opening we were able to get onto the ride in about 45 minutes.
Waiting in line at Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure
Hagrid’s Motorbike is probably the most creative rollercoaster I’ve ever been on. You ride in motorcycle seats and the ride goes forward, backward, drops, and moves pretty fast without being ridiculous.
Since the line wasn’t too long, we went ahead and rode the Flight of the Hippogriff too. It was much more oriented toward the youngest visitors and I felt a bit cramped in my seat.
After the ride we made our way over to the Three Broomsticks for breakfast.
The Three Broomsticks
We were actually pretty cold despite being in Florida. The prior week Florida had experienced a severe cold snap that brought temperatures down to the 30s Fahrenheit. On our visit the temperature would eventually reach 70 F, but in the morning it was just above 5 and the interior of the restaurant was chilly.
So along with our breakfast platters (I got the English Breakfast) we all ordered hot butter beers and they hit the spot. Also, I really didn’t know what to expect from the English Breakfast (there was no blood pudding) but I quite liked it.
Jurassic Park
We are fans of Jurassic Park (well at least the first movie and the first Jurassic World). I read the book when I was a teenager before I saw the movie.
We first made our way to the Discovery Center which looks just like the central pavilion from the first movie. There’s a restaurant upstairs, but on the first level there’s some interactive features (such as one that shows what you would look like as a dinosaur). Evan tried it and it was frightening.
We stopped at the gift shop and since it was a bit chilly got some sweatshirts. We looked for some new ‘Mr. DNA’ shirts but couldn’t find any. The staff knew what we were talking about and said there weren’t any left.
After buying our sweatshirts we did the pictured raptor encounter. When we said we were from Colorado someone else in line cheered for us.
Mythos Restaurant
It may seem like it wasn’t very long from our breakfast to having lunch, but we had made reservations in advance for 12:30 and we did our best to not eat too much breakfast so as to be sufficiently ready to eat at lunchtime.
And Mythos was reputed to be the best theme park restaurant in the world. Who would skip that?
Mythos has a cool interior, but the food was really meh for the price. We had the ground lamb hummus and I ordered a lamb burger. Really meh. Even a couple cocktails weren’t enough to change my mind.
After eating Evan and I saw some turtles in the waterway outside the restaurant. These are Florida soft-shell turtles. We saw the same species of turtles at Merritt Island in 2023.
With our stomach’s full, Evan and Shelley decided it was time for the Velocicoaster. Because I was shaken up by Stardust Racers the prior day I elected to skip it. I really didn’t want to puke on this trip like I did in 2021.
I walked around the park in one full circuit while they waited in line to ride. By the time I returned to the Jurassic Park Discovery Center to chill out (it was now getting hot and I had to take off my sweatshirt), they were done.
We left the park to head back to the hotel. I walked the path while they rode the water taxi. I got back first.
We made a stop at the gelateria at the Portofino Hotel. Good stuff, gelato it.
After reentering the room we all dozed off for four hours. Not intentionally. It just happened that way. By the time we were all awake it was 7PM and Epic Universe would only be open until 9:00 PM. We also hadn’t eaten any dinner.
We went anyway.
Epic Universe
We got right into the park after the bus ride and went straight to the Isle of Berk for our dinner. We made a quick order at the Spit Fyre Grill. I got the salmon and Shelley and Evan got Mac n’ Cheese cones. Both were really good.
Shelley checked the ride times and the Battle of the Ministry in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter had a 15 minute wait. That ride is typically in the hours. We made a beeline over there.
The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter
Entering this ‘world’ is like traveling to France. It’s shocking how realistic it is. We flew through what would have been a considerable queue space to the Battle of the Ministry and onto the ride.
I have to be honest. The architectural theming here is the show. The ride itself isn’t that great. You should ride it just because you won’t otherwise see just how much work went into recreating the Ministry of Magic. But would I wait hours to ride this ride?
I’m glad we only needed 15 minutes.
After this brief foray into the Hotter Potter world we returned to the Isle of Berk.
Isle of Berk
The Isle of Berk is really impressive at night. We also really enjoy How to Train Your Dragon.
The park will allow all riders in line after closing time to finish riding and thus even though the park closes at 9PM, you can stay until 10PM. We got int the line for Dragon Racers Rally at 8:55 PM and were able to get on this pretty cool roller coast about an hour later.
Another aspect of the parks is the gift shops will stay open past closing time, so we were able to get some much needed loot before leaving the park.
At close to 10:00 we dashed off to the bus (some others were running toward the bus and Evan and I just had to show how much faster we were).
Returning to the hotel we were ready to call it a night with another big day planned for tomorrow.
No animal is more beloved in Florida than the manatee. These gentle giants inhabit coastal inlets across the state, but actually seeing them can be challenging.
There are places in Florida, however, where manatees can be seen with relative frequency. Florida’s inland freshwater springs are a favorite winter refuge for manatees, who travel upriver from the coast to escape cold seawater. Once within the narrow confines of these springs, the manatees are easy to view, often totaling into the hundreds over a short stretch of water.
One of the best and most famous locations to see wintering manatees is Blue Spring State Park. Just a short drive from Orlando, this is a great side trip while in central Florida.
Our Visit
Since we were traveling to Orlando in February we decided it would be a good opportunity to visit the state park, and booked a cabin to have a place to spend the night. Staying in one of the cabins would allow us to enjoy the park before the crowds of manatee enthusiasts would arrive shortly after opening.
Cabin 1 at Blue Spring State Park
While the cabin looks unassuming from the outside, these cabins are quite spacious and offer a lot of amenities as you can see in the video I made.
Booking a cabin in the park is not easy due to their popularity, but since we knew we would be coming over a year in advance, I was able to book one as soon as it became available online.
We were very happy with our decision to sleep in the park.
We ended up arriving after dark and thus experiencing the park would have to wait until the next day. After getting our beds made we called it a night. We had a busy day in store for tomorrow.
Exploring the Park
Early the following morning I was excited to get out and explore the park and visit the spring before the crowds would arrive.
I got my camera and GoPro and walked the short path to the spring. Along the way I encountered a group of white-tailed deer, largely unconcerned by my presence.
Once at the boardwalk that runs alongside the spring, I found a crystal clear waterway teeming with manatees, as well as numerous fish like longnose gar and tarpon, and even an alligator.
Interestingly, alligators avoid manatees and the one that was in the spring seemed eager to swim away from the manatees. Manatees have no real natural predators in Florida.
Florida Manatee at Blue Spring State Park
We were planning on kayaking in the neighboring St. John’s River where manatees can also be seen (as well as the rest of the Florida wildlife). The park offers canoe and kayak rentals.
Unfortunately, in my haste to make reservations I selected the wrong date and we were out of luck. There was a silver lining, however.
Rescued Manatees
At the time we were supposed to be on the river, a couple rescued manatees were to be released into the spring. The manatees were trucked in by Sea World and we watched as they were carefully unloaded from the trucks, were given a quick health check, had radio tracking devices attached, and were carried down to the spring.
The manatee release was a big local event with news stations and local politicians in attendance. It was a cool opportunity to see how these animals were given a new chance to survive in the wild.
When the manatee release ended we walked one more time up the boardwalk to visit the canteen for coffee and to stop by the souvenir shop. It was a cool, misty February morning in Florida.
Final Thoughts
Blue Spring is a terrific respite from the busy world just outside the park and a great place to see the natural side of Florida. While we couldn’t enter the water, in the summer months Blue Spring is a great place to swim and paddle as well.
It was a good visit for us and I look forward to visiting more of Florida’s many natural springs.
